Creative Briefs for CPG Brands: Summary and Structure

A creative brief is a short, strategic document that translates marketing objectives into clear direction for anyone producing creative work—agencies, freelancers, internal teams, or AI tools. For CPG brands, where creative quality drives nearly half of advertising-driven sales lift (per Nielsen), the brief is one of the most consequential documents in the process.

Why Creative Briefs Matter for CPG Brands

• The brief is the bridge between brand strategy and actual creative output.
• Without a brief, teams guess at objectives, audiences, and messages—leading to misaligned work, wasted budget, and weaker results.
• Mid-market CPG brands are especially vulnerable because they often work with smaller agencies or freelancers who will execute exactly what they’re given, without backfilling missing strategy.
• The less budget you have, the more important it is to provide clear, complete context.

The 7 Elements of a Strong Creative Brief

A strong brief fits on a single page and includes only what the creative team truly needs.

1. Why Do We Need This?

• State the business reason in 2–3 sentences.
• Clarify the problem, opportunity, or strategic priority.
• Anchor the work in a real business need, not just a desire to "do more marketing."

2. Who Are We Talking To?

• Define a vivid target consumer, beyond demographics.
• Include attitudes, behaviors, needs, motivations, and pain points.
• Describe how they relate to the category and to your brand/competitors.
• Many brands personify this audience with a name and profile.

3. What Consumer Insight Drives This Brief?

• A human truth about how consumers think, feel, or behave in your category.
• Not a data point, but an observation that is both true and actionable.
• Should open creative possibilities and feel recognizable to the audience.

4. What Do We Want Them to Think, Feel, and Do?

• Think (Rational): The specific belief you want about your brand (features, benefits, perceptions).
• Feel (Emotional): The emotion you want to evoke (joy, trust, comfort, excitement, etc.).
• Do (Behavioral): The concrete action you want (visit, try, buy, follow, share, etc.).

This framework mirrors how people process information: attitudes (think/feel) drive behaviors (do). Collapsing this into a single “key message” loses emotional and behavioral clarity.

5. What Are the Reasons to Believe?

• 3–5 factual proof points that support your claims.
• Product attributes, certifications, awards, performance data, brand heritage.
• Verifiable facts, not aspirational language.

6. Execution Considerations

• Channels and formats (TV, digital, social, OOH, retail, etc.).
• Required brand elements (logos, taglines, legal lines, trademarks).
• Legal/regulatory requirements.
• Desired tone and look/feel.
• For CPG: packaging visibility and retail-specific needs (in-store, shelf, POS).

7. Timing, Budget, and Decision Makers

• Key milestones: brief date, concept due dates, final creative, launch.
• Production and media budget so ideas match reality.
• Name the final decision maker to avoid stalled projects and endless feedback loops.

Example: Creative Brief for a Mid-Market Specialty Food Brand

Why do we need this?

We need to grow awareness and trial among new consumers during peak grilling season, our highest-volume quarter.

Who are we talking to?

Health-conscious home cooks, 28 to 45, who enjoy entertaining and are willing to pay more for premium, natural ingredients. They shop at Whole Foods and Sprouts, browse food content on Instagram and TikTok, and care about where their food comes from.

Consumer insight:

For our consumer, hosting a meal isn't just about the food. It's about creating an experience that brings people together and reflects their personal values.

Think: This brand makes clean, premium sauces that I'd be proud to serve to guests.

Feel: Confident and inspired, like I'm elevating an everyday meal into something special.

Do: Pick up the product the next time I'm in the condiment aisle at Whole Foods.

Reasons to believe:

• All-natural ingredients with no artificial preservatives.
• USDA Organic certified.
• Featured in Bon Appetit's "Best New Condiments" list.

Execution considerations:

Social media (Instagram Reels, TikTok), in-store sampling at 50 retail locations, retail shelf signage. All creative must follow updated 2025 brand guidelines. Bright, outdoor, summer-entertaining tone.

Timing and budget:

Brief delivered June 1. Concepts due June 15. Final creative due July 1. Campaign live July 15 through September 15. Total budget: $45K (production and media).

How to Deliver a Creative Brief

• The goal is not just information transfer; it’s inspiration and immersion.
• Bring the consumer to life: their day, habits, frustrations, and the moments where your product fits.
• Use real inputs: reviews, social comments, retail feedback, shopper insights.
• A focused 20-minute walkthrough is far more effective than emailing a PDF alone.

Creative Briefs in the Age of AI

• AI now produces social content, ads, product copy, and emails.
• AI quality is highly dependent on input quality—just like human teams.
• Clear objectives, audience, tone, and outcomes make briefs effective for AI.
• AI is less able to “fill in gaps,” so structured, complete briefs are even more critical.
• Brief-based systems are becoming the backbone for scalable, consistent, on-brand content.

Types of Creative Briefs for CPG Brands

The same 7-element structure applies, but emphasis shifts by brief type.

Campaign Brief

• Primary focus: Unified idea across all channels.
• Deliverables: TV, print, OOH, retail, digital, PR, experiential.
• Key differentiator: Creates coherence across many executions.
• Frequency: 2–4 per year, often tied to seasons or major launches.

Packaging Brief

• Primary focus: Shelf impact and product presentation.
• Deliverables: Labels, boxes, multipacks, POS displays.
• Key differentiator: Must work within physical retail constraints and stand out in a specific shelf set.
• Frequency: As needed for launches, line extensions, or refreshes.

Digital and Social Brief

• Primary focus: Platform-specific engagement.
• Deliverables: Social posts, display ads, email, website assets, influencer content.
• Key differentiator: Must account for platform specs, formats, and algorithms.
• Frequency: Ongoing, often monthly or quarterly.

Content Brief

• Primary focus: Storytelling and earned attention.
• Deliverables: Video series, articles, branded editorial, recipes, guides.
• Key differentiator: Must be genuinely interesting or useful; earns attention rather than buying it.
• Frequency: Quarterly or aligned to cultural/seasonal moments.

MorningAI helps CPG brands produce better marketing through brief-based AI that turns your brand strategy into consistent, on-brand creative.